February 2010

02/28/2010

Winston Churchill once said "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."

Half a century later nothing much has changed. People under dictatorships strive for democracy as evidenced recently with the Arab Spring, while people in democracies are dissatisfied albeit to a lesser extent. In North America "Black Lives Matter" and "Occupy" movements are indicative of this discontent. In Europe, Belgium and France have marginalized immigrant populations some of whom harbour radicalized Islamic terrorists creating mayhem despite their relatively small numbers. In Iraq the divide between the majority Shia and minority Sunni has encouraged some Sunni to abandon democracy and join ISIS to form an Islamic caliphate. These are just a few examples that have made international news.

If blacks in America did not feel discriminated against (with statistics to back it) there would be no "Black Lives Matter" movement. If there was not a great gap between the 1% of the worlds population that owns more than the remaining 99% put together there would be no "Occupy" movements. Where economic division compounds racial, ethnic or religious divides the discontent is exacerbated.

Ingredients of democracy are Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. However, as described above, these do not apply evenly to all citizens in our democracies. Why? Its because of the current commonly used electoral system called First Past The Post. The group that gets the most votes - even if they represent far less than 50% of the population - get 100% of the power while the rest feel disenfranchised. When these groups are differentiated by race, ethnicity, religion or economy the resentment can become violent. Proportional Representation is an alternative to First Past The Post where all votes count, not just the majority votes. There are different forms of Proportional Representation and the right choice may differ based on circumstances, but in all circumstances some form of Proportional Representation is required for true democracy covering all of the population. In effect "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" should be replaced with "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity for All."

Changing the voting system from First Past The Post to Proportional Representation will not in and of itself make a successful democracy. There are segments in our societies so economically struggling they cannot afford the time and effort to cast their vote regardless of electoral system. For them every day is a battle to feed, clothe and shelter themselves for the next day. This goes on every day of their lives from early childhood till death. Democracy in terms of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity does not do much for them. These people need to be liberated economically from their day to day struggle to just survive for the next day for democracy to be successful. Basic Income would be the means of achieving that freedom. Basic income would provide every individual with basic food, clothing and shelter (no luxuries, just the bare essentials) so they have the freedom and opportunity to advance themselves both individually and as a society.

The recipe for successful democracy therefore is: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Equal Opportunity for All" made possible through Basic Income and proportional representation.

02/21/2010

It is 2010. There are just under 200 countries on earth, many of them land locked. For those with a coast line their sovereignty extends to 200 miles beyond their coast line. All countries have sovereignty over their air space which extends vertically to the maximum height most aircraft can fly.

We need a new world. A world not divided by national boundaries. A world without ungoverned high seas. A world where individual nations do not have to compete in space. A world with a World Government.

02/13/2010

The train is pulling up to a station. People are milling about the platform preparing to board. Looking out the window I see each one of them and think "Matter transformed". After all they, like me, are made up of matter. Matter formed and transformed in the Cosmos. Matter further transformed on earth. Whether created or evolved we are made up of Matter transformed.

02/07/2010

The post "The space race in the 21st century" showed how nations were spending mega millions of dollars on space projects to discover what other nations have already discovered, just to "keep up with the Joanses".